Women’s Hockey Falls in Overtime to No. 13 Endicott, 2-1

EAST BOSTON – Suffolk women's hockey may have struck first, however, No. 13 Endicott responded to tie things up and eventually the Gulls got the game-winner in overtime to hand the Rams their first Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) loss of the season, a 2-1, setback Friday night at Louis E. Porrazzo Memorial Skating Rink. 

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 1 | No. 13 Endicott 2
RECORDS: Suffolk (5-2-0, 4-1-0 CCC) | No. 13 Endicott (5-2-0, 4-1-0 CCC)  

HOW IT HAPPENED
Both sides tested the goalies over the first 20 minutes, but both Lily O'Neil and Michaela O'Brien did their jobs for their respective squads with a 10-save effort apiece to keep things scoreless.  

The Gulls look to get the upper hand first as Vanessa Stuart was whistled for interference 37 seconds into the second stanza. The blue-and-gold's penalty kill took care of business to keep zeros on the board over the next two minutes.  

Things stayed deadlocked, however, Suffolk put more pressure on O'Brien. Eventually, the Rams caught Endicott's netminder off guard when Liliana Moose fired a slap shot from the right blue line. Jenna Caballero waited in front of the cage and thankfully she was there as the puck hit off the freshman's stick and into the back of the twine to put the Rams on the board at the 14:34 mark. Leslie Steiner aided in the game-opening goal. 

Down one, Endicott picked up its pace and the pressure caused Shana Cote to be called for elbowing with just 37 seconds remaining in the middle period. 

The Rams handled the man-down for the final seconds of the period, however, the Gulls would start the third with a 5-on-4 advantage. 

Suffolk managed to kill off the penalty, but its third of the night paid off for the visitors. Fifteen seconds after Jesse Kennedy sat down in the box for checking Catherine Miles used a pass from Emeerson Hayes to level the playing field at 1-all. Kaylee Liberty helped set up the game-tying goal that game with 14:46 left on the clock.   

Just over the midway point of the third period Suffolk had a chance to go ahead as it went on the power play. Endicott's defense limited the Rams to just one shot on target with the extra skater that O'Brien turned aside to keep things even at one.  

Both goalies took care of business the rest of the way to force the extra session. 

In overtime, Suffolk commanded the opening portion of play. A breakaway by Cassidy Gruning looked to be the golden opportunity for the host, but O'Brien had other things in mind as she made the save.  

Momentum from the stop shifted in the Gulls favor as Kat Keith went down the ice. Her first shot was chest saved by O'Neil and Samantha Fantasia looked to chip away the rebound but Suffolk's junior goalie stopped that one as well. Keith was there to grab the rebound and this time the puck managed to slip past O'Neil to push Endicott to victory.  

NETMINDER NOTES

• O'Neil finished with 33 saves. 
• O'Brien had 35 stops.  

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• Caballero was responsible for Suffolk's only goal. 
• Moose and Steiner handed out one assist each. 
• Suffolk outshot Endicott, 36-33. 
• The Rams won the face-off battle as well, 36-24. 
• Endicott managed to go 1-for-3 on the power play, and successfully played off its one penalty.  

NOTEWORTHY

• Suffolk and Endicott went past regulation for the first time in program history. 
• The Rams played their first overtime outing of the season. 
• The OT contest marked the first time Suffolk went past regulation against a nationally ranked opponent. 
• Suffolk played in the program's 12th overtime game. 
• The Rams moved to 3-4-5 in OT outings all-time and 1-2-2 when playing an overtime contest at Porrazzo Rink. 
• Eight conference contests in Suffolk's history have need overtime to decide a winner. The Rams are 2-3-3 in such instances. 
• In the CCC, Suffolk moved to 1-2-0 in OT outings. 
• Suffolk has yet to be shutout by Endicott in the all-time series. 
• Suffolk moved to 1-7-0 all-time versus the Gulls and 0-4-0 against Endicott in Eastie. 
• The last five games between Suffolk and Endicott have been decided by a one-goal margin. 
• Overall, six of the eight outings between the Rams and Gulls have been won by one-goal. 
• Caballero extended her point streak to three games. In that stretch she has two goals and one helper.  

POST-GAME PIC
  

WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk and Endicott are set for a rematch tomorrow Saturday, Nov. 19 when they meet in Beverly, Massachusetts at Raymond J. Bourque Arena. Puck drop is set for 3 p.m.